Current account deficit at $12.96 billion after 9 months makes GUS happy

According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), Poland's current account deficit after the first nine months hit $12.96 billion, an improvement over last year's $13.05 billion. "It's not a big difference, but it makes us happy. We've been expecting this for a long time," said Janusz Witkowski, the deputy head of GUS. Exports in September increased to $2.7 billion and were 6.7% higher than in the preceding month and 11% lower than in the same period last year. At the same time, imports reached $4 billion and in August were only 3.5 % higher. The increase in imports was caused mainly by the rising price of crude oil from Russia. Witkowski also announced that despite a slowdown in economic growth, the financial condition of many companies has improved. This, however, is not reflected by growth in investment. The bad news is that in October the number of registered unemployed increased by 19,000 with the unemployment rate now standing at 14.1%. Experts add that there is little likelihood this upward trend will change in the near future. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19)